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Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023

Do Democrats have a supermajority in the Nevada Legislature?


no

Nevada Democrats have a supermajority in the state Assembly, but not in the Senate.

A supermajority is achieved when one party holds two-thirds of the seats in a legislative body.

In the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats gained one seat in the Senate and two in the Assembly. They now hold 28 of the Assembly’s 42 seats — a bare supermajority. In contrast, Democrats hold 13 of the Senate’s 21 seats — one short of a supermajority.

With the election of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in 2022, Nevada has a split government. Because Democrats do not have a supermajority in both chambers, they are unable to override a gubernatorial veto.

Democrats also cannot raise state taxes without a two-thirds vote in the Nevada Legislature, as stipulated in a constitutional amendment approved by Nevada voters in 1994.

See a full discussion of this at The Nevada Independent

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

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The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.

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